Scorpion in the Kitchen

The title of the post explains it all. This evening, as Carlos and I were fixing some tea, I walked towards the kitchen table and saw a scorpion. It's black. I always thought they were red, so I asked Carlos if this was a joke. His mom has some plastic rats and snakes that have terrified the grandchildren, so I thought that this could just be a joke...

It wasn't. Yes, his family had other plastic creatures, but not scorpions. I was terrified. I felt trapped and didn't know what to do. So I sat on the kitchen counter while Carlos looked for the broom to sweep it outside. He didn't want to kill it, even though before he thought of the broom he grabbed a small chair, presumably to smash it with. He couldn't find the broom, so I suggested he asked his dad, who was upstairs, for some help...and just to confirm that it wasn't a joke of his...

It wasn't. Dad came downstairs and helped Carlos sweep it out the house. It did move a little while being nudged with the broom. I was still sitting on the counter, terrified. I'm still terrified. Carlos assured me that that was the first scorpion that he's seen in the house. That didn't make me feel much better. I would have preferred to hear that he has never seen a scorpion in Cuenca. I'm still afraid to go into the kitchen, even though I know the scorpion isn't there. Maybe I'll be over it tomorrow, but for now no more slippers to breakfast.